"..a bardy view!"

These two dramas have captured the imagination of press and public, and I’m not sure what I’m watching any-more. Having said that, I like the Walking Dead purely because of it’s US 2nd Amendment agenda, which encourages and gives right to the American citizen to bear arms.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, those with guns will survive. It’s a grand shoot ’em up, and the beauty of it is that they can happily fire away, comforted in the knowledge that their targets are already dead. A gorefest of violence, justified as survival. In between we find a disparate and dysfunctional motley array of individuals who find it impossible to leave Kansas…or is that Georgia? Does it matter?

By contrast the Game of Thrones is pure fantasy – a cross between Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicas and the legends associated with the Sub Roman-British Dark Ages. Hence why British thespians are keen to play a part – however small, however short.

Being pure fantasy anything is possible. Sex, violence, tribal war, torture and political intrigue all play a part, and in essence the author George R R Martin sourced much of his research with the War of the Roses. Yes, the infamous Red Wedding scene described as too extreme for audiences to handle was based on historical records. Fact is stranger than fiction.

I’ve only just finished the latest series of the Walking Dead. This drama encourages young people – children no less – to carry guns and use them – a veritable plethora of hand and semi-automatic weapons.I seriously worry about that portrayal.

Sure, they use them to defend themselves against the rampant zombies – but I find it extremely disturbing that this is acceptable drama, and it can only encourage sections of the US public to ingratiate their children with the gun.

My point being that a drama designed for entertainment, surreptitiously aids the gun lobby, the NRA, and as children will be watching, enthuses them to emulate the scenario. I regard this as the height of irresponsibility. Some kids may emulate Superman and think they can fly – most are sensible enough to know that Superheroes are fiction – but in the Walking Dead, the message is a child can legitimately carry and use a gun. This is dangerous territory.

By contrast, guns are not present in the Game of Thrones (for all the violence), and most people know that dragons don’t exist. It is pure entertaining fantasy, in a fantasy world, populated by fantastic people. That’s the difference.

The Walking Dead is a survivalist’s dream. A nightmare in the modern world, where the survival of the fittest is key. There is no room for the weak in this world. They are surplus to requirements. After this length of time, isn’t it time that it projected a positive agenda? Or expressed some intelligent dialogue of predicament? No, it carries on, shooting, blasting, worshipping the power of the gun – in the name of entertainment.

Perhaps we expect too much from it, and should watch it purely for what it is – science fiction and popcorn fodder. But here’s a thought. After four series not one protagonist has discussed the way of the world, nor addressed the question of circumstance, nor attempted to analyse the predicament, investigated, or sought solution. Not one theory has been expounded.

Catching up with the last episode of The Walking Dead our intrepid heroes have all managed to make it to “Sanctuary”. The usual convoluted strorylines have played out, with back stories of the main characters, indeed, this is becoming a soap opera, the difference being that the ever present threat of dangerous dead people are forever present.

It’s reached the stage that the enemies are not zombies, but real people. It’s an interesting development, and necessary to fill out a simple survival tale. The survivors have resorted to basic animal instincts to survive, for in a world of Zombies, nobody can be trusted, chaos ensues, and basic instincts akin to mediaeval times take control.

How much more shock can we endure. As I have mentioned in other posts, the Walking Dead is an excuse for gory violence on a grand scale. Children either commit murder or are victims of it. Adults teach the children how to fire arms. Messages are written in the blood of zombies because pen and ink are not available. Which is quite astonishing, because when the survivors raid a shop they never pick up any sensible things like writing instruments. They often find tinned fruit, and seem to have an unlimited supply of matches to light a fire.

They have been wandering around Atlanta for four seasons now, and the weather has been ambient. The most sinister villain was English – The Governor – ok, he was played by an English actor – and a nasty piece of work he was. But he was the smartest because he knew about local government control – mad, but focused – a bit like Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London (I was going to say without the crazed look in his eye…but on second thoughts…!)

Unfortunately David Morrissey (said Governor) completely flipped his lid and went rampant on a gorefest of murder and mayhem – resulting in his own demise. It’s strange that if he had kept his head (and his eye patch) he would have been a great leader – after all, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king! In the Land of the Zombies he would have been Emperor!

Still, David at the mid-season break was killed off, and our motley crew of survivors were scattered to all points of the compass.

It’s a sad loss – a villain true was Morrissey. I equate his demise to the execution of Richard Sharpe in the Game of Thrones. I mean whatisname….(long pause).. Ned Stark aka Sean Bean (or vice versa).

Focus for Gawds sake!

On the subject of Game of Thrones….hang on, that’s a different post! Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, our heroes were dispersed but seem to have all met up again in a strange place which offers safety. Of course, there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye, and something sinister is afoot. I don’t really know what it is – I’ve never read the comics (oops, I mean “graphic novels”) but it looks like the hero Rick (English actor Andrew James Clutterbuck aka Andrew Lincoln) has found his mojo and is about to unleash hell.
What would Hollywood do without the English? Indeed, what would Game of Thrones do without us?
On which subject, I must make an observation. Surely if the zombie apocalypse happened in London, we English would have created some order by now – you know – contingency, bureaucracy, trade, pen pushers, administration, home guard, colonel Blimps etc? How about the Women’s Institute and Salvation Army? After all, we all like a brass band and a cup of tea with crumpet. A Game of Scones! Clearly Atlanta isn’t ready for all that.

Having caught up with the Walking Dead, after its mid-season (4) break, I am left defending my initial observations here, here and here, back when it all began.

The problem with the drama is that it’s walking in circles. Series one saw the motley group of survivors attempting to find somewhere safe to live. Series two found them on a farm which got overrun and they had to leave, getting dispersed in the process; series 3 found them in a prison; and series four sees them overrun, back outside, and dispersed yet again.

I must admit I shy away from mythological fantasy, especially if penned by such questionable luminaries as J R R Tolkien, C S Lewis, and dare I say, J K Rowling. (Notice how each author initialises their moniker!)

So not being a Sky subscriber I was ignorant not only of the TV production but also the author who inspired it – George R R Martin (two initials in that one – must be a winning formula) from his collection of epic novels entitled "A Song of Ice and Fire".